OFFICERS

Artificial Intelligence over recent years has played a large role in improving the efficiency and capability of the police service. Considering there has been a cut of approximately 20% of active police officers in the force between 2010 and 2018, advances in AI have been timely for the UK.

It’s being used in a number of different ways. Most notably, advanced facial recognition and video technology is helping police forces with crowd control and surveillance of heavily populated areas such as sports venues, train stations and protest marches. In the US, facial recognition is being more positively employed to recognise and assist with missing persons and to process suspected sightings from members of the public, creating efficiencies in active searches.

The use of AI and machine learning is slowly spreading into police work, though it remains controversial in areas such as predictive policing. Durham Police have been experimenting with AI to assess the suitability of suspects for release on bail. Elsewhere a system called The National Data Analytics Solution (NDAS) a prototype program to reduce serious crime has been met with concern. The system uses a combination of AI and statistics to try and assess the risk of someone committing or become a victim of gun or knife crime, as well as the likelihood of someone falling victim to modern slavery.